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I side-glance her. “He is. He’s great.”
Aubree continues to walk us through the emergency department, but my unease doesn’t lessen. “Is he more than another brother at the club to you?”
I let out an exhale. “Yeah, he is, but Hurricane and Bayou don’t know yet, so please don’t say anything.”
She chuckles. “Ingrid, confidentiality is literally my job. But hey, I am happy for you. Gives me hope that I can find a younger, gorgeous man for myself one day.”
I let out a small laugh as she leads me toward room four. Before Aubree pulls back the curtain, she pulls me to the side. All the niceties of the moment before seem to have vanished, and she looks me in the eyes, pain clear in them. “Ingrid, Novah will need you to be strong, okay?”
My stomach drops, and the weight of the moment hits me like a ton of bricks. I think I already know the outcome before we even step inside.
My bottom lip trembles, my eyes watering as Aubree grips my arm, but I nod. “Okay, I got this.”
She pulls back the curtain. Bayou stands over Novah, gently stroking her hair and whispering something into her ear. The tender moment shared between them makes my heart sing.
Novah’s eyes instantly light up, her hand automatically reaching out for me as I step inside the small space. “Mom, I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too, darling. Me too,” I assure her, then move in beside Bayou as he stands by her head, and I reach for Novah’s hand, taking it in mine. My other hand rests on Bayou’s shoulder. “You okay?” I ask him.
He doesn’t say anything, just gives me a simple nod. Which means he is far from okay. I know him well enough that when he goes quiet, he’s internalizing everything and is hurting.
Bad.
“Okay, so I have had all the scans and tests. You must know what’s going on by now, Aubree?” Novah asks as Aubree steps up to the other side of the bed.
“I do…” The tone in her voice is not soothing, and I think Bayou and Novah pick up on it straight away. I grip Novah’s hand in mine, and Bayou continues to stroke Novah’s hair as Aubree continues, “After the ultrasounds and the scans, I’m so sorry to tell you that the blow to your stomach caused some complications to your pregnancy.”
“What kinds of complications, doc?” Bayou finally says something, but his tone is full of anguish.
Aubree exhales, her eyes drop, and instantly, I know the news is not good. “I’m so sorry, Novah. One of your babies has died in the womb.”
It hits like a sucker punch.
Hard.
Fast.
Unrelenting.
Novah gasps, tears streaming from my eyes as I reach over to hold her hand.
“No, no! That can’t be right!” She blubbers.
The sound of something smashing makes me jump. Bayou has grabbed the nearest thing, which happens to be a bedpan, and he’s thrown it at the cupboard. It hits the wall, then clangs down onto the stand where the surgical supplies are located. Shit flies all over the floor as he lets out an animalistic wail and drops to his knees with his head in his hands.
My heart hurts seeing my children so torn up like this.
Novah is devastated as she cries on the hospital bed, but Bayou is a complete wreck on the floor.
So I stand between them and kneel at Bayou’s level, placing my hand on his shoulder. “I know how terrible this is, darling. But you still have a baby you need to focus your attention on. I understand how much this hurts right now, but you’ve got to focus on the positives…” I spin to face her. “Therearepositives? Right, Aubree?”
She grips Novah’s hand. “The water within the unviable twin’s tissues, amniotic fluid, and placental tissue should be reabsorbed, so we won’t need to do anything about removing the unviable fetus. But with the fetal death just before mid-gestation, there is an associated risk of preterm labor, preeclampsia, and perinatal mortality of the other fetus, but… the surviving twin will most likely develop without further consequences. However, we will need to monitor you closely until the birth. The positives are you still have a healthy baby who wasn’t impacted by the trauma of your injuries, and while it is utterly devastating, you should put all your energy and focus into the child you still have.”
Bayou sniffles, affected by Aubree’s words, and slowly stands from the floor. I move with him as we stand beside Novah, the three of us rocked by this news.
Bayou leans over Novah, his mouth by her ear. “I’m so s-sorry I wasn’t there to protect the three of you,” he mumbles, his voice cracking through his obvious pain.
I rub his back as Novah clings to him, her tears falling freely. “It wasn’t your fault. It was no one’s fault other than Anton’s—”
